Greetings from Bengazi
September 13th, 2026
A video we found in the internet shows the flip side of EU interventions in eastern Libya. Italy, Greece and the EU are currying favour with Haftar, just as they previously did with the militias and the government in Tripoli. Libyan Government Decree No. (113) of 2026, which criminalises the entry of Sudanese, Eritrean, Ethiopian and Somali nationals into Libyan territory and provides for the deportation of those without valid residence permits, also applies in Haftar’s Eastern Libya.
Birimi Jihed has reported on Linkedin:
Over just 3days,the same machinery operated on land and at sea.
•On 31 August, coastal security forces in Tobruk announced a raid on a workshop allegedly being used to build boats for migration crossings. A boat was seized and burned. At the same time, local reports described wider raids in eastern Libya, with around 200 people arrested over Sunday and Monday.
•On 1 September ,same units raided a house in Ain al-Ghazala, Tobruk,being used to shelter migrants,and arrested an unspecified number of people.
•On 2 September, land patrols from Libya General Administration for Coastal Security arrested 15 #Bangladeshi people on a beach in #Tobruk.
People will be taken to detention before deportation
Then the operations moved offshore.
• 71 Bangladeshi people intercepted northwest of Benghazi.
• 45 Sudanese people intercepted north of Marsa Lak.
• 25 Bangladeshi and Sudanese people intercepted reportedly around 170 nautical miles north of Benghazi.
• 34 Sudanese people intercepted north of Tobruk shortly after midnight on 2 September.
• Another 32 Sudanese people intercepted around 42 nautical miles off Tobruk later that morning.
At least 207 people in just these five documented interceptions. And this figure does not include those arrested during the parallel operations on land.
And among those 34 people was a mother carrying a newborn baby only days old. This is where every bureaucratic expression "migration management", "screening","return","border control" should become impossible to hide behind.
A footage from Qanfouda
This footage was published by Sudan Plus. It was recorded September 04, 2026, and communicated by Sudanese refugees out of the Prison of Qanfouda in Bengazi, East Libya. The speaker in the video speaks with low voice in order not to be detected. He sais there is one meal a day, very poor conditions, and that he is detained in a ward together with 150 persons, and that there are 25 wards like this in Qanfouda.
A Call by the Committee for Justice, September 11, 2026, gives further information:
According to information documented by CFJ, Qanfouda Prison holds approximately 2,000 Sudanese detainees distributed across several detention wards, including women, children, and entire Sudanese families. Detainees reportedly endure harsh living conditions characterized by inadequate nutrition, insufficient medical care, the spread of infectious diseases, and psychological distress, while some individuals have remained in detention for two years or longer.
Testimonies from former detainees indicate that acts of abuse and torture have occurred inside the prison, including beatings resulting in injuries and fractures. Available information also suggests that some Sudanese detainees have been involved in guarding detention sections, distributing food, and committing abuses against fellow detainees. Reports further indicate deaths among Sudanese detainees inside the prison, including the death of Ahmed Bishara, known as “Ahmed Ajdabiya,” in the prison’s second ward.
Situated in the Southern Suburbs of Bengazi, this Detention Center is one of the most prominent ones in East Libya. According to the Global Dentention Project, it has a capacity of 450 refugees. In December 2025, there was a reported population of 1635, while, according to the CFJ, there are 2000 persons detained at the moment.
Deportations to Where?
Already in December 2021, the UN Human Rights Committee reported the deportation of groups of migrants from Sudan, and the Horn of Africa. The migrants were rounded up in the steets of Benghazi, then brought to Qanfouda, and then to a detention center in Kufra. From there, they were transferred across the Sahara desert to the border area between Libya and Sudan, where they were “discarded”.
Libyan Government Decision No. (113) of 2026 allows for the deportation of nationals from Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia. However, there are obstacles, particularly for refugees from Sudan. There are no direct flights from Libya to the parts of Sudan under SAF control. If deportations were to take place over land, the refugees would be handed over directly to the RSF and allied militias.
As long as the border area between Libya and Sudan is controlled by RSF forces, the detention centers in Libya will grow further, along with rumors and fear anomg the Sudanese refugees of being handed over to the RSF.
Haftar’s Double Play
The main problem of the refugee populations from Sudan and HoA is impoverishment. Because of the devastating war, refugees have no money to pay for travelling costs, bribes, and ransom demands. Unless they get a chance to earn money, the can not pay for the passage. This impoverishment of the refugees is one of the main reasons why Libyan militias, and Haftar’s LNA, are opening their arms for EU money and cooperation.
Europe has a big foot in the door now, also in Haftar’s Libya, Fueling Violence and Dehumanization. The route from East Libya to Crete is still being used, although under fire of Haftar’s Tareq bin Zeyad militia. The number of refugees has decreased by half, since 2024. The refugees stuck in Libya have to pay the price, besides the dead of the Med.
What we see in this footage is a very direct consequence of the EU’s externalisation policy.